Silver Lining
by Shade the Hero
Summary: When Riku fails to come through for his friends, he seeks the aid of someone who can help him become stronger. His new mentor agrees to take him in as his pupil, but the training is much more difficult than Riku expected. Can he overcome these trials or will he fail his friends once again? Slight AU
1. Prologue

_**This fic is not only inspired by a conversation between a friend and myself, but also a gift for my friend: ElectroNerd. She and I are both big fans of certain characters and I wondered how it would turn out if these two teamed up? Hope you all enjoy, especially you ElectroNerd. I shall try to fully describe every aspect of Riku's koolness. ;)**_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. **_

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**Silver Lining**

**Prologue**

The streets of Traverse Town were empty in the second district. A storm was raging overhead as rain poured down on the single person standing in front of the fountain. He was soaked, raining dripping from his silver hair and running down his face. Drops of rain pattered against his sword. The keyblade known as Way-to-Dawn, was at the ready. The teen had stood there for almost twenty minutes. Waiting.

The falling rain drowned out all other sounds, it would be impossible to tell which way his target would come from. The sheets of rain falling made seeing difficult. It forced him to rely on his inner senses. The pressure around him, the rush of an opponent, the vibrations of on-coming footsteps. Everything he had learned over the past few weeks was put into this performance test.

Riku had poured his blood sweat and tears in preparing for this moment. He had trained tirelessly. Long nights, painful days; at times he came close to breaking. Only the thought of his friends kept him going. they were the reason he begged for this training. He mentor had refused him time and again, only when Riku managed to actually land a hit did his mentor finally agree to train him.

Now that very man was laying in wait, somewhere. Waiting for the right moment to strike, to catch his pupil off-guard. Riku however, would not let his opponent surprise him so easily.

There! Riku thought he had sensed a change in pressure to his right. It was gone as quickly as it came. He secretly wondered if his opponent was trying to find the best way to come at him. If Riku could just follow the pressure he'd be able to pin-point him and get the first shot.

A flash of lightning lit up the dark streets for a moment. Riku thought he saw a blur on the ledge of the building just across from the Dalmatian's house and a small flash from a sword, but it was gone as quick as it came. Concealed again by the darkness of the storm. Still, Riku didn't move.

A few more minutes passed. Still nothing. Riku tried to scan the area around him once more as the rain began to ease up a little. that was the moment his mentor chose to strike.

From the ledge above the fountain he jumped from into the open and came down on the teen, sword prepared to strike. Riku sensed it in the knick of time, he dodged to the right, the large missing him by such a small margin that Riku could see his reflection in the sword. In the same moment, Riku swung his keyblade and struck at his attacker. The man easily dodged it and tripped Riku.

The silverette landed on his back and rolled as the sword came down on him once again. Taking his keyblade, Riku jumped up and aimed to strike. His opponent easily dodged it and grabbed Riku's wrist in the same motion.

He spun and threw Riku towards the fountain. Riku turned as his feet landed on the wall as water from the fountain parted from the blast of wind the attack had created in slow motion. Riku launched himself from the wall and came at his opponent. Again, Riku missed and his teacher decided it was time to end the battle.

Taking his sword in both hands he rushed towards Riku the same moment as Riku swung. There was a flash as the two fighters passed by each other. Both landed a mere ten feet from the other. They stood motionless for a moment. Finally Riku stumbled and fell to his knees. His keyblade vanished.

The victor relaxed and reconnected his two swords which he had separated during the final attack. He approached the teen who was taking this defeat pretty hard.

"Come on," his mentor called as he headed for the stairs.

"I'm never going to get this!" Riku called as he punched the ground in anger.

"Not with that attitude you won't. Now come on, let's get something to eat."

"Yes, Master Strife." Riku reluctantly replied as he stood up and began to follow.

The blonde-haired soldier turned to glare at his pupil. "I told you not to call me that."

"How else should a student address his mentor?"

"Just address me as you would anyone else." With that he began walking off, not waiting for a reply.

Riku followed after him, Cloud Strife: The only one who could fully prepare Riku for his ultimate battle.

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**_I promise, this is not a one-shot. _**


	2. Chapter One: Stubborn Teenagers

_**The theme song for this fic is "Erase This" by Evanescence. **_

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**Chapter One: Stubborn Teenagers**

Two days had passed since Riku had failed his test. Since then, he had been working extra hard to strengthen his skills. When he wasn't training he was helping the shop keepers in the First District. Marso, the manager of a restaurant was having trouble trying to get a cart around the corner to the back door and into his store-room.

Riku looked over the cart. It was crammed full of boxes and was way too heavy for one person to push alone. Marso was leaning against the front, huffing and panting after another failed attempt to get it around the corner.

"Need a hand, Marso?"

The man in his mid forties looked up to see the silver-haired teen leaning from the side. "Oh, Riku, why y-yes, yes I do. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he replied as he headed towards the back of the cart and started pushing. With Marso pulling from the front they got it around the corner and to the back door of his restaurant: The Clockwork Cafe.

Marso tried to convince the young man that he could handle the rest, but when Riku saw him struggling with one of the heavier boxes the teen picked up a box and followed him inside. Fifteen minutes and thirty-seven boxes later Marso set the last one on the shelf and wiped his brow.

"I didn't think it'd be that much work, but my supplier had a special and I couldn't pass up the chance."

Riku was taking a sip from the water that Marso had provided them with as the manager continued. "Thanks for your Help Riku. Tell you what, your next three meals here are free."

"You don't have to do that, Marso," replied Riku, "to be honest, I was hoping to get a workout."

"Oh nonsense. You've been helping this town for weeks now, it's about time you let us show our gratitude. The other shop keepers and I have seen how hard you work. That task master you call a trainer has been working you to the bone. The girl who runs the flower shop believes it's about time you give him a talkin' to."

Riku shook his head. "Nah, I'm glad he's not taking it easy on me. I'll never get stronger if I don't push myself."

The bell from the second district began to toll. Riku finished off his glass of water and headed for the doorway. "I've gotta run. See you later, Marso!" With that the teen was gone, leaving the manager to shake his head. "Kid works too hard."

On the other end of the First District, sitting on a bar stool to a diner was Cloud. He had ordered two ramen bowls. Not wanting his meal to get cold he had already started without his pupil. If Riku wanted cold noodles it was his own fault for being late.

Riku saw his mentor already at the diner and took the seat next to him. With a simple 'thanks' Riku began eating.

Cloud responded with a "hmph."

They ate in silence. Cloud raised an eye brow at the rate Riku was devouring his noodles. Within a very short time the bowl was empty. The teen set it down and let out a satisfied burp.

"Hungry?" asked the soldier.

"Yeah, I just helped Marso restock his supplies and worked up an appetite," replied Riku. He could tell they weren't going to train yet. The soldier usually told him to go fight some heartless in the Third District after he finished his meal.

Cloud finished his meal in silence. After his last bite he sat the bowl down and finished his drink. "I got an update from Yuffie."

Riku's eyes lit up. Cloud had his full attention.

"She says Sora's almost strong enough to travel. Kairi's been given the clean bill of health, but she wouldn't leave until she was sure Sora would make a full recovery."

Riku didn't try to hide his smile. "Think they'll head this way?" he asked hopefully.

"Probably," replied Cloud, "but he's still not strong enough to go into battle. At this point even Shadows would be a challenge for him."

"I doubt that. He took out a fare few on our island when he first got the Keyblade. And back then he didn't even know what it was," Riku said cheerfully.

Cloud didn't share his optimism. "Riku, he didn't regain consciousness until a week ago."

Riku's smile vanished.

"He was really out for that long?"

The soldier nodded.

Riku looked down at his empty bowl, in thought. He took a deep breath as his eyes became focused and determined.

"Well then, I'll just have to make sure the heartless are gone before they get here."

With that, Riku Headed for the Third district. Cloud watched him go. The kid was improving, but he still had a lot to learn.

_**. . .**_

Riku approached the middle of the Third District. Everything seemed quiet, but he knew they were there. Waiting for an opening.

Sure enough, when Riku closed his eyes the heartless appeared. Shadows and Soldiers swarmed him and attacked. Way-To-Dawn appeared in a flash and the heartless vanished under its assault one by one.

The heartless came at him in groups of five's and six's. This wasn't a challenge for Riku. When he had joined Sora's party in The World That Never Was they fought off countless heartless and nobodies that were far tougher than these runts.

But the thought of his friend being unable to fend off even these weaklings bothered Riku. He vented his anger by cutting down three in one swing. Sora was one of the strongest people Riku had even known, it infuriated him to hear how weak he was now.

The thought of exterminating these pests became a substitute for a punching bag. A heartless soldier snuck in from behind and clawed Riku in the back. The teen turned and roared as he charged for the heartless. Five swords suddenly rained down from the sky, trapping Riku in a small circle.

Cloud appeared at the base of the steps coming from the Second District. The remaining heartless vanished into small corridors of darkness, sensing the strength of this new threat.

The soldier approached Riku and stood in front of him. "Anger only creates more darkness. If you don't stop blaming yourself, stronger heartless will come and they won't just limit themselves to the Third and Second districts. Is that what you want?"

"Of course I don't." Riku replied, annoyed. He didn't need a lecture, not right now.

Cloud's expression never changed. "Looks like its time you entered a new phase of training."

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_**Remember when Sora first entered the Second District in KH1 and saw a man get his heart stolen by a soldier heartless? That was Marso. I decided to give him a better role than just an unfortunate victim.**_


	3. Chapter Two: Echoing Anger

**Yeah, this chapter is a bit short (I'm sorry), but they'll be getting longer soon. Promise. ;) I'm just setting things up and trying to keep with the mystery of why Cloud is training Riku. Half of the reason is already known, but there's still a lot that's been left unsaid. Find out what as the story unfolds. **

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. And if I hadn't mentioned it before, this fic is also a gift to my friend and fellow KHfan, ElectroNerd. Don't worry, Riku has plenty of 'kool' moments coming your way. **

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**Chapter Two: Echoing Anger**

Riku stood in the underground chamber that was once home to Merlin. It had been abandoned ever since the wizard returned to his cottage in Radiant Garden. Riku stood on one of the moving rock slabs as it glided across the water.

"I don't get the point of this training."

His voice echoed off the walls, increasing the volume of his voice. Riku turned his head, trying to pin-point where Cloud was. The silver-haired teen was wearing a blind fold, just like before.

The soldier's voice echoed off the walls making it impossible to tell where he was in the darkness. "The point is to focus and don't let your anger get the better of you."

"I already know how to focus and I don't need anger management," Riku could think of better training than this.

"You told me you wanted to become stronger in order to protect your friends," Cloud was leaning against the wall by the entrance with his arms folded.

"Yeah, so?" asked Riku.

"If you don't learn to control your anger then you won't be able to protect them from yourself."

"That's crazy, I'd never take out my anger on them." That wasn't entirely true, but Riku was a different person now. He had a better control over his darkness now, didn't he?

"Then let's put it to the test."

Cloud tossed a rock into the water next to Riku who reacted on instinct. Turning with his keyblade at the ready. Cloud tossed another rock into the water on the other side of the teen. Again, this had the same reaction.

He repeated this several times and each time Riku turned to face the sound. The speed of each throw increased until it was hard to tell where it was coming from because the sound was continuously bouncing off the cavern walls. Cloud tossed the rocks onto the rock where Riku stood next. To Riku, it sounded like footsteps. He swung out with his keyblade, hitting nothing but air. Several more rocks struck the ground around him, but each time the teen would strike and hit nothing.

"What's the point of this?!" he shouted, frustration thick in his voice.

Another sound landed next to Riku and he struck out, but this time something struck back. Cloud's fist collided with Riku's cheek, knocking him on his rear.

"The point is to control your anger under any condition. When your senses betray you, you only have your mind to rely on. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy."

"Lose my temper, lose my focus,...I got it." Riku grumbled while rubbing his cheek and standing up.

"Then come at me," replied the soldier.

Riku braced himself and then swung out at Cloud who easily side-stepped the blow, leaving Riku to stumble forward and fall into the water.

He broke the surface a moment later and pulled off his blindfold, coughing up water. He looked up at the soldier who was looking back down at him. "I know, I lost my focus."

Cloud smirked slightly before leaning over and extending a hand out to his pupil, "Now you're learning."

_. . ._

Later that night Riku was leaning against the rails of the balcony to his hotel room in the second district. He kept thinking about his training and how much he had learned and how much he still didn't know. He knew he was a good fighter, but he was also miles behind his teacher. The most depressing thought was now, Sora was miles behind Riku. It'd take forever to get him back to where he previously had been.

Riku just hoped they would get another letter soon and hopefully it would say when his two friend would be arriving. Riku wanted to make sure this town was heartless free. He only hoped that Sora wasn't angry with him. Kairi either.


	4. Chapter Three: Good News Bad News

**My goodness, it's been way too long since I've updated this. Between my other projects and some much needed research I had more or less thrown this on the back burner. I know this chapter is really short, but they'll get longer. This story is still in its early stages after all. Anyways, as always, hope you enjoy. ^^**

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**Chapter Three: Good News Bad News**

It had been over a week since Riku's new level of training had begun and the teen had improved his skills quite a bit. After the fourth day of blind-fold training or 'Anger Management' as Cloud dubbed it, Riku was able to think and battle with a clear mind. Cloud decided to resume normal training when Riku not only managed to remain calm, but almost knocked him into the water. The swordsman decided not to admit how difficult it is to actually get him off-balance, lest the teen get a swelled head.

Since then, Riku had been back in the second and third Districts, taking care of any heartless that dared to show its face. It was during once such day that the Large Bodies decided to rear their ugly heads. Riku was managing well on his own and had already defeated two of them. Three were left as he fought in front of the Dalmatian's house. Thanks to the previous training, Riku was relaxed as he battled them. They weren't tough, just tricky. Their front armored plates protected them well, but left their backs completely open to his assault.

The echo of closing doors caused the silverette to glance over towards the entrance to the First District as he saw his mentor. Cloud was holding two pieces of mail that had just arrived. One, he put into his pocket while the other he held up for his pupil to see. Riku knew what had to be, a new update about his friend!

Taking his Keyblade, Riku leapt into the air and struck, finishing the one he had been fighting with before jumping off the heads of the two remaining ones, landed on the upper wall near the hotel entrance and hurried over to the swordsman.

"Does it say when they're coming?" he asked with a slight pant.

"Read it and find out," replied the blonde.

Riku didn't even wait for him to hand it over before snatching it out of his hand. He skimmed over the postcard once, before slowing down to read it again. Cloud watched him with a hint of amusement. Despite being a bit more serious and down-to-earth, Riku could act very much like Sora at times, especially when he got excited about something.

When the teen finished and looked back up with a smile. "They'll be here by the end of the week!"

Cloud nodded, "That doesn't give you a lot of time to get rid of the heartless."

"I can do it! I've improved, haven't I?"

"Then you better get started," the blonde replied as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the two Large Bodies who were standing around, scratching their heads wondering where the keyblade wielder had gone.

"Right," Riku replied with a sheepish grin before rushing over to finish them off.

As Riku was busy sweeping through the area, making quick work of the heartless, Cloud returned to his apartment and pulled out the second letter. While the postcard had been addressed to the both of them, the letter was for his eyes only and it was from Tifa, not Aerith.

Sitting down at his desk, Cloud read over the letter. It was a decent sized letter, which, coming from Tifa most likely meant it wasn't good news. And it wasn't. By the time he had reached the last paragraph he let out an aggravated sigh and ran a hand through his spiky hair. This reunion was going to be a lot harder on them then he thought it would.


	5. Chapter Four: Reflecting

_I am really sorry it has taken months to update this. There really is no excuse, I just have a lot on my plate at the moment. Hope you guys can forgive me. I'll try to have some more action written for the next chapter and maybe we'll even get to see Sora. _

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**Chapter Four: Reflecting**

Cloud was faced with a difficult task. admittedly, it was one of the hardest challenges he'd ever faced. Monsters, Heartless and One-winged Angels he could handle, but this was in a class of its own.

The letter Tifa had sent him detailed the extent of Sora's injuries. Most of them had healed, but there was one injury that forced the young teen to fight an uphill battle. The worst part was, it wasn't something that the boy could help. It would take all the luck in the world for him to recover. The swordsman knew he was a lucky kid. He had said it to Leon not long ago, but he knew it would take a lot more than luck for him to pull through this. It'd take a miracle.

The challenge for the swordsman was to find a way to break the news to his pupil. Preferably without shattering the kid. Riku already blamed himself enough. It had taken Cloud the first week of their training just to convince the kid it wasn't his fault. He'd be damned if he let all that time and effort go to waste.

With a sigh of defeat, Cloud decided to shove the issue into the back of his mind as he headed to bed. He'd figure out how to tell him in the morning.

The next day Cloud was regretting last night's choice. He should have done what he always did. Treat it like removing a band-aid and get it over with it quickly. Riku was up before his mentor was and had decided to check the districts earlier. The Second District was clear of Heartless and the Third didn't have many either.

Cloud emerged from the red door and stood in the hall, his mind dwelling on what to tell Riku when said silverette entered through the entrance doors and headed down the hall to his room.

Riku was anxious to get in as much training as possible, but the heartless were starting to become less of a challenge. It was a good thing. It meant he was getting stronger. He secretly wondered when his next performance test would be. He had failed the first time on that rainy night, but it seemed like so long ago now that he almost felt like a different person. He was determined not to let his mentor defeat him so easily again. He stopped when he saw Cloud standing in the hall.

"What's up?" he asked, unsure why the blonde was just standing there.

Cloud's conscience was basically screaming at him to just tell him straight up. Riku had dealt with a lot already. He could handle the truth. He had the right to know.

"Riku,..." He looked over at the teen, who met his gaze. He...he couldn't do it.

"Yeah?" It wasn't always easy to read the swordsman, but Riku had discovered that the man's eyes often betrayed his emotions. Something was troubling him and as his student, Riku couldn't have that.

"It's nothing," replied Cloud.

"Your lies are almost as weak as Sora's," Riku told him before folding his arms. "It's obvious something's eating at you, you're so good at keeping things to yourself, so this is probably something you need to get off your chest."

"You sound more like the teacher than the student," Cloud retorted with slight amusement. Maybe Riku was right. The kid had gone through a lot as well and was still a loyal defender of the light. Why shouldn't he tell him?

"I'm worried about Sora," he began.

Riku nodded, "So am I, but I've been taking down the Heartless every time I see one. The Large Bodies don't even show their faces anymore. Mostly just Shadows and the odd Soldier. I'm fairly confident that he won't have anything to worry about."

"I don't doubt your strength," Cloud replied, "but Sora was more seriously injured then we thought."

"He's still coming, isn't he?" Cloud could clearly hear the concern in the silverette's tone.

"Yeah, he's still coming, but he has a very long road to recovery. There's also a chance that he may not ever fully recover."

Riku could barely believe what his mentor was telling him. "You obviously don't know Sora that well. He is the very definition of optimism. I've seen him do amazing things. Defeat insanely powerful opponents, go up against the darkest of evils with nothing but a wooden sword and raw courage. There's no doubt in my mind that he can't overcome whatever injury fate has thrown at him and if you doubt him then you don't have the right to call yourself his friend."

With that Riku stormed off, throwing the double doors open as he went. Cloud was left stunned by the teen's words. He never imagined Riku would feel so strongly about protecting his friend. True he knew they were close friends, but it surprisingly stung to be on the receiving end of Riku's defence. It also stung because he knew Riku was right. While he didn't know all of Sora's achievements he had heard enough from Leon and the others to know that the kid was tough, much tougher than when he first met the kid in the Coliseum.

_**. . .**_

Cloud kept his distance from Riku for the rest of the day. It was best for him to vent his anger on his own and Cloud was confident that the boy had learned to channel his anger properly.

The swordsman headed into the First District, looking for a place to get something to drink. He missed the Seventh Heaven. It had been the perfect local waterhole with the most beautiful bar maiden. That was before their world had become Heartless Central and the evil witch turned it into a decaying eyesore.

Now that it was slowly recovering and had reclaimed its original name, Cloud wondered if Tifa had any plans of rebuilding the bar. It sure would be nice to have a decent place to crash then renting hotel rooms every night. He could use the wasted munny for better things like saving up to rebuild Fenrir. Another thing that had been lost when their world had been attacked.

A hard slap in the back forced Cloud out of his thoughts and he spun around to face the man who was stupid enough to do that to him. He was a little surprised to see Marso, the owner of the Clockworks Cafe.

"What was that for?"

"I called your name three times," Marso flatly replied.

Cloud only shrugged, Maybe the guy did, maybe he didn't. It didn't really matter. "What do you want?"

"I want you to give Riku a break. The boy's been working too hard and when he's not working himself to death trying to please you he's breaking his back helping everyone else. The other shopkeepers and I have tried to tell him to take it easy, but he's too kind and stubborn to listen."

Cloud shook his head. "Riku is doing just fine. I'm not over-working him."

"You're not always around to see him on his time off. I found him sound asleep in the back of my cafe the other night and before that Jessie said she saw him passed out in the back of her place."

Cloud still wouldn't budge. "He can't afford to take it easy. There are others counting on him and there's a lot more going on outside of this town then you realize. People are counting on him to do his part and he can't help them if he's not ready because a bunch of nosey gossipers are trying to baby him."

Normally Cloud would have relented, but not with Sora coming in a few days and not when He thought about all of what he had to go through at Riku's age. Training in the military was anything but easy, and made the training Cloud was giving Riku seem like a joke. Cloud remembered being left behind, dropping unconscious, throwing up and falling face first into mud more times than he could count. Eventually he couldn't handle it anymore and became an infantryman instead of a SOLDIER. True he was MUCH stronger now, but that was through no effort of his own. He was made strong. Other people like Riku and Sora were born with greatness. Cloud's greatness was thrown upon him, but at a horrible cost.

Realization hit Cloud so hard he almost staggered back a pace. He had been unfair to Riku, but in a different way. He had to make sure that Riku's training was enough, because the last thing Cloud wanted was for Riku end up paying the same price he had. The blonde was determined to make sure nothing happened to either of the teens.

He turned his back on Marso, ignoring the man's rants as he turned the corner and the shouts became distant before fading.


End file.
